Harboring Loss
by uNperfectXxXx
Summary: One day when Shanks pays him another of his unannounced visits Mihawk can't help but notice that something is missing. - Rated M for some crude language and hints of Shanks/Mihawk yaoi


**I _had_ to write this because I just LOVE the relationship between Shanks and Mihawk! :) Anyway, this is my take on how Mihawk finds out about Shanks' loss of his arm. I hope you like it!  
Warning: This contains some crude language and hints of Shanks/Mihawk yaoi. Nothing too explicit though.**

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**Harboring Loss**

„Where's your arm?"

Shanks laughed, in that completely obnoxious, unrestrained way of his. „That's no way to say 'hello', Hawky. Long time no see! How you been?"

Mihawk wasn't deterred. „Where's your arm, Shanks?"

The red-head shrugged like it was no big deal, flopping down onto the grass next to the swordsman with a huge grin on his face. "Lost it. More importantly, I brought your favorite sake, so have a drink with me!" Not even waiting for a response Shanks opened the bottle with his teeth, filling a cup for himself and the other man. Mihawk couldn't help but notice how much longer it took because of the red-head's handicap. It must have happened recently if his body hadn't adapted to the change yet.

Shanks didn't seem to notice the swordsman's stares as he finally finished and raised his cup with a boisterous shout. "To the new era!"

Mihawk'y eyebrow rose. _"New_ era? Since when was this era over?"

"Not _now_, you dumbass", Shanks chuckled as his friend – enemy? frenemy? - twitched irritatedly at the insult. "The new era in the future! I have a feeling that it's gonna be great, nay?"

Mihawk sighed, silently giving up on trying to follow that train of thought as he, too, took a sip from his cup. "You'll be old by then. Not having to cater to your childish whims might be a welcome change."

"Hey!", Shanks protested. "I'll never grow old! Unlike you, you stiff grump."

"Very mature."

"Bite me." Shanks stuck out his tongue. "Bleeh!"

Mihawk raised his cup to his lips to hide a small smile. Shanks must've been the only person in the world who could do something like that in front of the world's greatest swordsman and live to tell about it. "Seriously though. How did you lose your arm?"

Shanks' hand involuntarily drifted to the bandages on his left shoulder where his arm used to be as a soft smile lit up his face. Mihawk noted with no little surprise that he looked sincerely at ease with the loss, not a shred of regret on his face. "You won't believe it, but... I found a little kid who acts just like my old captain."

"Roger?" Mihawk raised an eyebrow. "A _kid_ acting like the pirate king?"

Shanks grinned, looking exactly like the young boy Mihawk had met so many years ago in his giddy excitement. "Yup! He's gonna go far, that Luffy. I just know it."

"Luffy", Mihawk repeated, noting the name down in some distant corner of his mind. "So you lost your arm to that kid? You must have gotten sloppier than I thought."

"I didn't lose an arm_ to_ a kid, thank you very much", Shanks pouted, an amused glint in his eyes. "I _gave_ it for him."

Mihawk took a swig from his sake cup, murmuring under his breath. "Stupid hero complex."

"Hey, I heard that!", Shanks laughed, plucking a few strands from the grass beneath him and tossing them at Mihawk. The swordsman caught them in mid-air with a sour expression.

"Stop it, Shanks."

"Oooh, scary", the red-head mocked, leaning right into Mihawk's personal space. "However, my 'stupid hero complex' only applies to my nakama, so shove it."

Mihawk pushed Shanks away with one hand, unimpressed. "We both know that's not true", he mused with a frown, remembering his first encounter with the troublesome man. "You can't help but meddle with everyone else's business, nakama or not."

Shanks grinned, no doubt guessing what Mihawk was thinking about as he refilled his cup. "I'll drink to that!"

The swordsman frowned at him as he once again watched the red-head struggle with balancing the bottle and his cup at the same time. With a sigh he snatched both from the pirate captain, ignoring his protests as he filled the cup himself.

"Good grief. You're even more of a nuisance now that you're a cripple."

Shanks bristled. "This cripple can still kick your ass, you know?"

Mihawk didn't reply.

Shanks' eyes narrowed dangerously at the swordsman's lack of response. "You think this makes me weak, huh?"

Mihawk lifted the cup to his lips to refrain from answering, never looking at Shanks.

"You do, don't you?", the red-head asked in an icy tone, putting down his drink with deliberate slowness. "Just don't want to hurt the poor cripple's feelings, huh?"

Mihawk jumped out of the way less than a second before Shanks' sword dug into the ground right where he'd sat a moment ago.

"Fight me!", the red-head barked, his aura murderous as he rose to his feet. "I won't be pitied by you, Hawk-Eyes! I won't stand for it!"

The swordsman stared at Shanks with an unreadable expression, drawing Yoru with a _ching_ of metal against metal. "I won't hold back."

Shanks sneered. "I'll kill you if you do." Then he pounced.

The battle that followed had to be their fiercest yet, fueled by anger and frustration and a need to let loose they both hadn't known they had. True to his word Mihawk went all out in his attacks, Shanks countering with the same amount of skill he always had, if not slightly more vicious than usual. It took over an hour for them to finally pause, standing across from each other and panting heavily.

"Take it back", Shanks growled, blinking sweat out of his eyes.

Mihawk stared back at him. "What exactly?"

"That I'm weak." The way Shanks said it made it sound like he'd just spit on something. "Take it back!"

"I never said that."

"You thought it!", Shanks hissed, clutching the hilt of his word tighter. "Admit it!"

The swordsman frowned. "You want me to say it, then take it back?"

"_YES!_"

Mihawk's head tilted just slightly. "That's idiotic. Don't be ridiculous."

Shanks roared in frustration, charging at Mihawk with blind fury. Just the opening he needed. Mihawk skillfully ducked Shanks' wide downward swing, twisting to throw himself bodily into the red-head's side at the same time. They both tumbled to the ground with the momentum, Mihawk landing on top of a slightly disoriented Shanks, immediately pinning his one arm above his head. Their swords clattered to the ground somewhere behind them, neither man taking notice of this.

"You cheater!", Shanks spat as he tried to wriggle out of Mihawk's iron grip. "Leggo, you son of a-!"

"I don't think you're weak."

Shanks stopped struggling to look up at the swordsman in surprise. "Huh?"

Mihawk reached up with his other hand to trail over the red-head's bandaged shoulder. "Even if you lost all of your limbs you wouldn't be weak. You'd find a way around it."

Shanks frowned slightly. "But you still pity me."

"No." Mihawk's hand moved back to trace invisible patterns across Shanks collarbone, his sharp eyes following the movement. "That kid... He changed you."

Shanks was too stunned to answer for a moment before he laughed loudly. "Holy shit! Are you_ jealous?_"

Mihawk glared at the red-head. "Of course not!"

Shanks smirked. "Oh, come off it, Hawky. You know I'll always love you the most." He batted his eyelashes mockingly, raising his voice by an octave. "My grumpy hero!"

Mihawk just barely resisted the urge to strangle the other man. "You come here and start talking about the new era and a_ kid_ who acts like the pirate king." The swordsman huffed and shook his head. "That's the talk of people who are ready to hand over the reigns. It's like you're retiring already." Mihawk glared at the man under him, disappointment shining clear in his eyes. "I expected more out of you, Red Hair."

Shanks' face had grown more and more thoughtful as he took in Mihawk's words, understanding where the other was coming from and contemplating this. He looked at his old rival, at the underlying insecurity that the swordsman would never admit to having felt and said seriously. "I'm not retiring, Hawk-Eyes."

The swordsman stared down on him without any visible reaction, waiting for him to elaborate.

"There are still many things I need to do", Shanks continued, watching the sky with a determined look in his eyes. "This era was formed by our generation. I'm not ready to leave it to the youngsters yet. I want a part in it."

Mihawk _nodded,_ satisfied with the answer. "And that kid?"

Shanks smiled reminiscently. "He's special. I just know it."

"How?"

The red-head turned to look Mihawk in the eyes with a silent undertone of maturity that the swordsman had not seen before. "There's something about him that tells me he's going to surpass me someday." His lips twisted into a smile. "I want to see him do it."

Mihawk eyed him quizzically. Shanks caught his disgruntled expression and laughed.

"Don't worry. You'll understand when you find your own successor."

Mihawk scoffed at the notion. "Not anytime soon."

Shanks' eyes glinted knowingly. "Well, when you do I'll say 'I told you so'."

"I'll keep it in mind," Mihawk said, clearly not intending to.

"More importantly", Shanks drawled, voice dropping low as he twisted his hips to rub against Mihawk still seated on him. "I rather like this position you got us in."

The swordsman raised an eyebrow, ignoring the half-hard erection he felt rubbing against his thigh. "Oh really."

Shanks grinned, leaning up to nose at Mihawk's neck. "Yeah."

Diverting his eyes to the other's bandaged shoulder the swordsman felt compelled to ask. "Doesn't it bother you still?"

Shanks followed his line of sight to his absent appendage, shrugging with a cheeky smile. "It was my left arm, so it's not _that_ bad. You know I jack it with my right."

Mihawk sighed heavily. "Knowledge I would like to forget."

"Naww, don't be like that, Hawky", Shanks cooed into the swordsman's ear. Mihawk could feel the red-head smirk against his cheek. "I know you like watching me."

Mihawk scowled as he leaned back, squeezing the strong wrist he still held in his grip. "At least this makes it easier to hold you down."

Shanks' eyes flickered as he grinned. "Is that a challenge?"

The swordsman 'hn'ed, the corners of his lips twitching upwards as he started unbuttoning his shirt. "Try to keep up, Red Hair."

Shanks smirked. "We'll see."

**THE END**


End file.
